Anaheim corruption report alleges a criminal conspiracy, secret lobbying and influence peddling
LA Times, NATHAN FENNO, GABRIEL SAN ROMAN: "A long-awaited outside investigation into political corruption in Anaheim made public Monday found a “potential criminal conspiracy” regarding $1.5 million in COVID-19 relief funds and alleged the city’s former mayor and the ex-head of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce participated in “influence peddling.”
The 353-page report by the Laguna Niguel investigative firm JL Group detailed numerous lobbyist meetings that weren’t reported as required by the city, raised concerns about the close relationship between the city and the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, and characterized former Mayor Harry Sidhu’s signature Anaheim First initiative as “nothing more than a fig leaf for potential future public corruption and the wrongful diversion of public funds.”"
Is S.F. Mayor Breed at risk of losing reelection? Here’s what experts say
The Chronicle, JD MORRIS: "Mayor London Breed has a tough road ahead as she prepares to seek reelection next year.
Polls show she is unpopular among San Francisco residents, most of whom think the city is headed in the wrong direction amid escalating social and economic problems. Breed already has an official challenge from one high-profile opponent, Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, and another, philanthropist Daniel Lurie, is waiting in the wings. Other prominent candidates — including a potential challenger from the left — may enter the race in the months ahead."
The ‘Johnny Appleseed of election fraud’ wants to upend voting in America. Why he’s focused on California
LA Times, SARAH D. WIRE: "Douglas Frank grinned as a high-pitched whine filled the sanctuary of a small Hemet church.
Holding an aluminum rod he said represented America, Frank quickly passed his fingertips over the metal, causing it to vibrate and build resonance."
Santa Clara County avoids strike — can San Jose do the same?
BANG*Mercury News, GRACE HASE: "Santa Clara County has narrowly avoided a strike with its largest union after reaching a tentative agreement that includes the biggest wage increase in more than two decades.
SEIU Local 521, which represents more than 12,000 county workers including 9-1-1 dispatchers, social workers and hospital staff, authorized a potential strike in mid-June. The strike threat came around the same time the Board of Supervisors approved the county’s $11.3 billion budget that eliminated approximately 600 vacant position to help close the deficit — a move the union pushed back on."
A Chat with CalMatters editor in chief Kristen Go
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "Today we welcome CalMatters’ new editor in chief, Kristen Go, who joined the newsroom at the very end of May.
Go has big shoes to fill: founding editor Dave Lesher took the organization from fledgling start up to public media behemoth in eight short years; now CalMatters is seen by many as the 800 pound gorilla of California political news. (Does that make Capitol Weekly the chimp? Nevermind.)
Go certainly has the chops for the job – she has a long CV, ranging from USA Today to the San Francisco Chronicle to the UC Berkeley graduate school of journalism. Hosts Rich Ehisen and Tim Foster spoke with her about her vision for CalMatters, how the nonprofit news model stacks up against traditional media, and about AB 886, Asm. Buffy Wicks’ proposal to force tech giants to fund reporting."
The Mojave Desert is burning in California’s biggest fire of year, torching Joshua trees
LA Times, GRACE TOOHEY, ALEX WIGGLESWORTH: "California’s biggest wildfire of the year — burning through delicate Joshua Tree forests along the California-Nevada border — is an unusual desert blaze being fueled in part by the rapid growth of underbrush from this winter’s record rains.
The York fire had scorched 77,000 acres as of Monday, with no containment. After first being observed Friday, the blaze has spread mainly across the Mojave National Preserve in eastern San Bernardino County, but recently jumped into western Nevada. No evacuations have been issued as a result of the fire, which is burning in mostly remote areas."
Two supermoons will light up the night sky in August. Here’s what you need to know
The Chronicle, KELLIE HWANG: "The first of two August supermoons will rise over the Bay Area on Tuesday, kicking off a “very unusual” month featuring two full moons at their closest distance to Earth along their orbit, according to astronomers.
The first one, on Tuesday, is traditionally known as a full sturgeon moon because of the giant fish in the Great Lakes readily caught at this time of year. The second, on Aug. 30, is called a blue moon because it occurs in the same calendar month as another full moon."
Red tide returns to San Francisco Bay, one year after large fish die-off
BANG*Mercury News, LISA M. KRIEGER: "A toxic red tide has returned to San Francisco Bay, raising fears of a reprise of last summer’s unusually large fish die-off.
Experts report that harmful blooming algae was detected last weekend in rust-colored water samples from Emeryville, the Berkeley Marina, Albany and Marin County’s Richardson Bay and Muir Beach."
California needs thousands of nurses, but leaders can’t agree on how to fill jobs
CALMatters, KRISTEN HWANG: "Ashley Hooks always planned to retire at Lakewood Regional Medical Center, where she has been a nurse for 12 years. But now, Hooks said, staffing issues are so bad and burnout so severe that she’s rethinking how she wants to spend the rest of her career.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the number of nurses at the hospital dropped from just below 500 to 330 according to her union’s roster, said Hooks, who is 53."
Insurer tactics to delay care pushes health equity further away (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, FOLA P. MAY (MD, PhD): "Long plagued by racism and discrimination, communities of color lag on many healthcare measures. Eliminating disparities requires increasing access to care and improving outcomes. Unfortunately, some insurance companies are erecting extraordinary barriers that will actually delay necessary treatment for patients — and exacerbate inequities.
Case in point: UnitedHealthcare (UHC) just rolled out a nebulous new Advance Notification Program for all commercial plans that will require doctors to gather data at a granular level to order most gastrointestinal (GI) colonoscopy and endoscopy procedures for their patients — an arduous process that will be used to create a “Gold Card” prior authorization program in early 2024."
L.A. County gave up on a mental health program — and is handing back millions in grants
LA Times, LILA SEIDMAN: "It seemed like any other night. Silverio Lujan’s teenage daughter was distant and listless. Then, before he knew it, she had a fistful of pills and a knife in her hand and threatened to end her life.
Panic-stricken, he dialed 911."
New blood test that screens for cancer raises hopes — and concerns among some doctors
The Chronicle, MARK KREIDLER: "By summer 2021, Gilbert Milam Jr. was living a good life. A nationally renowned rapper who performs under the name Berner, Milam was also enjoying the global expansion of Cookies, a brand of cannabis products and clothing that he co-founded and was running as CEO.
But Milam was haunted by a family history of cancer, including his mother’s death from stomach cancer at 54. So, at age 37, he told his physician in San Francisco that he wanted to take every precaution against being diagnosed too late to live a full life. As it happened, his doctor said there was a new test to try."
Private colleges don’t have to let alleged abusers confront accusers, state Supreme Court rules
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "When students at private colleges in California are accused of sexual abuse, the school must give them a chance to respond but is not required to hold a hearing where they can cross-examine their accuser, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday.
Legal standards of fairness require the colleges to provide students “notice of the charges and a meaningful opportunity to be heard,” but do not mandate a court-type hearing, Justice Joshua Groban said."
X sign on San Francisco Twitter building is down after city blowback
The Chronicle, NORA MISHANEC: "The large X sign hastily installed atop the Market Street headquarters of Elon Musk’s rebranded Twitter disappeared Monday morning following neighborhood controversy and at least two thwarted inspection attempts.
Its removal came just three days after workers installed the sign — a thin black metal “X” — without receiving permission from the city, in violation of San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection codes. The city’s building complaint tracker showed the company blocked a San Francisco building inspector from accessing its newly installed rooftop sign both Friday and Saturday."
San Francisco isn’t doomed. These 6 places show why
The Chronicle, JOHN KING: "The story of San Francisco is a tale not of two cities, but a constellation of physical and cultural landscapes that overlap yet feel distinct.
Now more than ever."
